
LESSON 9 November 22-28
9. Christian
"Lay up for yourselves treasures in
heaven, where neither moth nor rust
doth corrupt, and where thieves do
not break through nor steal: for
where your treasure is, there will
your heart be also" (Matt. 6:20, 21).
Our Lord's teaching has a dis-
tinctly otherworld flavor. That is
not surprising in One whose
"kingdom is not of this world."
Those who intend to follow Him
must obtain the same otherworldly
philosophy, even when dealing
with such worldly matters as in-
come and possessions. They will
seek to "lay up . . . treasures in
heaven," knowing that such a pol-
icy is wiser in every way than that
of accumulating "treasures upon
earth."
These thoughts lead our minds
to stewardship, which, from a
Christian viewpoint, may be de-
fined as the unselfish use of the
resources God has given us, be
they in the form of money, posses-
sions, circumstances, or in the less
tangible but no less useful gifts of
time, health, intelligence, influ-
ence, and abilities.
In Adventist circles, we tend to
think that stewardship means re-
turning the tithe, and it also
suggests to more and more mem-
bers the giving of the same amount
te r s a
for freewill offerings and for gen-
eral church expense. But a respon-
sive heart will also wish to care for
many other needs, especially those
connected with human welfare
both in and outside of the church.
We must guard against a hardening
of the "heart-eries," for such,a dis-
ease is spiritually fatal. If skeptical
questions be fired about the
genuineness of some appeals that
reach us, we should not take all
such queries as reasons for closing
our minds and our pockets. As Dr.
Atterbury, an eighteenth-century
divine, once asked, "Shall we re-
pine at a little misplaced charity,
we who could no way foresee the
effect—when an all-knowing, all-
wise Being showers down every
day His benefits on the unthankful
and undeserving?"
One way to obtain funds for
satisfying our responsibilities in
stewardship is to reduce the size of
our wants. That process is not an
easy one, for there are so many
pressures, from without and
within, to increase our desires! But
God's Spirit can help us to keep
their size and number in check,
and we shall be able to respond to
a wider number of genuine needs
in the troubled world around us.
DAILY HIGHLIGHTS
1.
Creator and Owner
(Gen. 2:15)
2.
Religion and Arithmetic
(Num. 18:21)
3.
Religion and Giving
(Deut. 12:6)
4.
Religion and Our Possessions
(Rom. 14:7)
5.
Religion and Others
(James 1:27)
6.
Blessings on Stewardship
(Mal. 3:10)